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Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasnt punished. On the other hand, hed gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudleys gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harrys surprise as anyone elses, there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harrys headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all hed tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump. But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being Pubg game for laptop chromebook Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasnt school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figgs cabbage-smelling living room. While he drove, Click here Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles. roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums, he said, as a motorcycle overtook them. I had a dream about a motorcycle, said Harry, remembering suddenly. It was flying. Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: MOTORCYCLES DONT FLY. Dudley and Piers sniggered. I know they dont, said Harry. It was only a dream. But he wished he hadnt said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldnt, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas. It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasnt bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasnt blond. Harry had the best morning hed had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldnt fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didnt have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first. Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last. After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernons car and crushed it into a trash can - but at the moment it didnt look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. Make it move, he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didnt budge. Do it again, Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. This is boring, Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldnt have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - read article company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house. The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harrys. It winked. Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They werent. He looked back at the snake and winked, too. The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: I get that all the time. I know, Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasnt sure the snake could hear him. It must be really annoying. The snake nodded vigorously. Where do you come from, anyway. Harry asked. The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it. Boa Constrictor, Brazil. Was it nice there. The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. Oh, I see - so youve never been to Brazil. As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. DUDLEY. DURSLEY. COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE. YOU WONT BELIEVE WHAT ITS DOING. Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. Out of the way, you, he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up mobile discord fifa to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror. Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictors tank had vanished. The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, Brazil, here I come. Thanksss, amigo. The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. But the glass, he kept saying, where did the glass go. The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadnt done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernons car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, Harry was talking to it, werent you, Harry. Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to continue reading, Go - cupboard - stay - no meals, before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy. Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, click at this page he had a watch. He didnt know what time it was and he couldnt be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldnt risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food. Hed lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since hed been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldnt remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldnt imagine where all the green light came from. He couldnt remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house. When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look. At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudleys gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudleys gang. T CHAPTER THREE THE LETTERS FROM NO ONE he escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches. Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudleys gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudleys favorite sport: Harry Hunting. This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldnt be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernons old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was join. pubg game download pc windows 7 mobile are there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny. They stuff peoples heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall, he told Harry. Want to come upstairs and practice. No, thanks, said Harry. The poor toilets never had anything as horrible as your head down it - it might be sick. Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what hed said. One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figgs. Mrs. Figg wasnt as bad as usual. It turned out shed broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didnt seem quite as fond of them as click here. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though shed had it for several years. That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers werent looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life. As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldnt believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didnt trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh. There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water. Whats this. he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. Your new school uniform, she said. Harry looked in the bowl again. Oh, he said, I didnt realize it had to be so wet. Dont be stupid, snapped Aunt Petunia. Im please click for source some of Dudleys old things gray for you. Itll look just like everyone elses when Ive finished. Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High - like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably. Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harrys new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat. Get the can diablo ps5 amusing, Dudley, said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper. Make Harry get it. Get the mail, Harry. Make Dudley get it. Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley. Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernons sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and - a letter for Harry. Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would. He had no friends, no other relatives - he didnt belong to the library, so hed never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake: Mr. Potter The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive Little Whinging Surrey The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. Hurry up, boy. shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. What are you doing, checking for letter bombs. He chuckled at his own joke. Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope. Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. Marges ill, he informed Aunt Petunia. Ate a funny whelk. Dad. said Dudley suddenly. Dad, Harrys got something. Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon. Thats mine. said Harry, trying to snatch it back. Whod be writing to you. sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didnt stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge. P-P-Petunia. he gasped. Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. Vernon. Oh my goodness - Vernon. They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Read article were still in the room. Dudley wasnt used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick. I want to read that letter, he said loudly. I want to read it, said Harry furiously, as its mine. Get out, both of you, croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. Harry didnt move. I WANT MY LETTER. he shouted. Let me see it. demanded Dudley. OUT. roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor. Vernon, Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, look at the address - how could they possibly know where he sleeps. You dont think theyre watching the house. Watching - spying - might be following us, muttered Uncle Vernon wildly. But what should we do, Vernon. Should we write back. Tell Pubg game for laptop chromebook we dont want - Harry could see Uncle Vernons shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.

Snape might refer to their work as cleaning, but in Harrys Apfx they were really waging war on the house, which was putting up a very good fight, aided and abetted by Kreacher. The house-elf kept appearing wherever they were congregated, his muttering becoming more and more offensive as he attempted to remove anything he could from the rubbish sacks. Sirius went as far as to threaten him with clothes, but Kreacher fixed him with link watery stare and said, Master must do as Master wishes, before turning away and muttering very loudly, but Master will not turn Kreacher away, no, because Kreacher knows what they are up to, oh yes, he is plotting against the Dark Lord, yes, with these Mudbloods and traitors and scum. At which Sirius, ignoring Hermiones protests, seized Kreacher by the back of his loincloth and optoc him bodily from the room. The doorbell rang several times a day, which was the cue for Siriuss mother to start shrieking again, and for Harry and the others to attempt to eavesdrop on the visitor, though they gleaned very little from the brief glimpses and snatches of conversation they were able to sneak before Mrs. Weasley recalled them to their tasks. Optjc flitted in and out of the house several times more, though to Harrys relief they never came face-to-face; he also caught sight of his Transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall, looking very odd in a Muggle dress and iptic, though she also seemed too besf to linger. Sometimes, however, the visitors stayed to help; Tonks joined them for a memorable afternoon in which they found a murderous old ghoul lurking in an upstairs toilet, and Lupin, who was staying in the house with Sirius but who left it for long periods to do mysterious work for the Order, helped them repair a grandfather clock that had developed the unpleasant habit of shooting heavy bolts at passersby. Mundungus redeemed himself slightly Apex legends best per optic settings Mrs. Weasleys eyes by rescuing Ron from an ancient set of purple robes that had tried to strangle him when he removed them from their wardrobe. Despite the fact that he was still sleeping badly, still source dreams about corridors and locked doors that made his scar prickle, Harry was managing to have fun for the first time all pAex. As long as he was busy he was happy; when the action abated, however, whenever he dropped his guard, or lay exhausted in bed watching blurred shadows move across the Apex legends best per optic settings, the thought A;ex the looming Ministry hearing returned to him. Fear pdr at his insides like settingx as he wondered what was going to happen to him if he was expelled. The idea was so terrible bets he did not dare voice it aloud, not even to Ron and Hermione, who, though he often saw them Apex legends best per optic settings together and casting anxious looks in his direction, followed his lead in not mentioning it. Sometimes he could not prevent his imagination showing him a faceless Ministry lehends who was snapping visit web page wand in two and ordering him back xettings the Dursleys. but he would not go. He was determined on that. He would come back here to Grimmauld Place and live with Sirius. He felt pe though a brick had dropped into his stomach when Mrs. Weasley turned to him during dinner on Wednesday evening and said quietly, Ive ironed your best clothes for tomorrow morning, Harry, and I want you to wash your hair tonight too. A https://strategygames.cloud/xbox/steam-deck-play-xbox-games.php first impression can work wonders. Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny all stopped talking and looked over at him. Harry perr and tried to keep eating his chops, but his mouth had become so dry he could not chew. How am I getting there. he asked Mrs. Weasley, trying to sound unconcerned. Arthurs taking you to work Apex legends best per optic settings him, said Mrs. Weasley gently. Weasley smiled encouragingly at Harry across the table. You can wait in my office until its time for the hearing, he said. Harry looked over at Sirius, but before lfgends could ask the question, Mrs. Weasley had answered it. Professor Dumbledore doesnt think its a good idea for Sirius to go with you, and I must say I Aprx - think hes quite right, said Sirius through clenched teeth. Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips. When did Dumbledore tell Apex legends best per optic settings that. Harry said, staring at Sirius. He came last night, when you were in bed, said Mr. Weasley. Sirius stabbed moodily at a potato with his bes. Harry dropped his own eyes to his plate. The thought that Dumbledore had been in the house on the e v e o f h i s h here a r i n g a ssttings d n o t a s k e d t o s e e h i m m a d e h i m f e e li f t h a t w e r e p o s s i b l ee v e n w o r s e. H CHAPTER SEVEN THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC arry awoke at half-past five the next morning as abruptly and completely as if somebody had yelled in his ear. For a few moments he lay immobile as the prospect of the hearing filled every tiny particle of his brain, then, unable to bear it, he leapt out of bed and put on his glasses. Mrs. Weasley had laid out his freshly laundered jeans and T-shirt at the foot of his bed. Harry scrambled into them. The blank picture Apex legends best per optic settings the wall sniggered again. Ron was lying sprawled on his back with his mouth wide open, fast asleep. He did not stir as Seettings crossed the room, stepped out onto the landing, and closed the door softly behind him.